42. Friday Prayer

After hearing how Ching Seong brought me to Putrajaya Mosque,  another friend of mine, Raizan offered to take me to the mosque today for Friday prayer. Coincidentally, he was on leave today.

I woke up getting excited to go to the mosque. It must have been three years since the last time I went to a mosque before I had Muscular Dystrophy. I put on my long white Middle Eastern costume which I bought during my visit to Mecca back in 1996. Surprisingly,  I could fit into the jubah as i called it. Not much difference between now and myself 16 years ago, only but on some weight and fat here and there especially on my tummy.

When we arrived at the mosque, not many people were there, Raizan parked his car near to the entrance of the prayer room. I came out of the car with my crutches and Raizan brought along a chair as I could not sit on the floor.

A few guys who attended the mosque  were staring at me and I did not feel comfortable, I told raizan about it and he told me to ignore them. he said we are here to visit Allah and to pray to him and not to take the stares seriously.

A man in his 40s sat nest to Raizan and started to ask him about me. he suggested that Raizan took me a nearby local healer and give it a try.

Sitting on the chair that we brought from home, I stood out from the rest who were sitting on the floor. I felt so much at ease when I prayed in the home of God and listening to the sermon. I hope this would not be my last visit to His home.

Thank You Raizan for taking me to the mosque today.

41. Time Spent with Ching Seong

I have been friends with Ching Seong for seven years now since his university days at London School of Economics in Britain. When he was studying, we hardly met except when he was back in KL we would hangout. We maintained our friendship through the social media.

Today, CS,  as I called him is a lawyer in Singapore. Whenever he comes back to KL we will  hang out. This week, with the labour day, he spent few days in KL.

He fetched me at home and looked around my apartment. I was a bit embarrassed as some parts of my apartment were messy, especially my store room. I do not have the strength to do heavy duty house chores. later, he took me out to Putarajaya to see the Putrajaya mosque, he wheeled me around the mosque before i entered the praying section to pray and while waiting for me to pray,  he had a conversation with Aunty Azizah, who is a volunteer at the mosque.

After we were done, i was struggling to put on my shoes, sitting next to me, CS bent down, took my feet and helped to put on my shoes. I was touched by his gestures. He has demonstrated the values of a true friendship.

After Putrajaya, we headed to Bangsar for dinner with his friend. While wheeling me around the mall, CS noticed that some of the shoppers  stared at us. He didn't like the situation and thought those people were rude. He said that would never happen in the UK. I told him I was immuned to the stares. The dinner was nice. I thanked him  for taking me out for dinner.

The next day, CS called and told me he was coming over to my place. To my surprise, he brought along his maid to clean my apartment. While Rika, his maid was doing the household chores,  me CS and his little sister went to my Aunt Nora's house for lunch. Both siblings liked the malay dishes cooked by Aunt Nora.  I also introduced them to Uncle Dean, my elder brother and his family were there too. It was like a small family gathering.

Thank You CS for spending time with me.